India’s leading Refinery selects ZeeWeed* based MBR System for wastewater recycle

Client was looking for a solution to treat high COD wastewater from existing UASB unit. Client required consistent outlet water quality from the plant, to be fed directly to their RO unit to enable waste water recycle.

SUEZ developed a solution involving MBR technology with ZeeWeed 500D to achieve desired water quality. The ZeeWeed ultrafiltration membrane has a normal pore size of 0.04 µm, which provides a physical barrier to biomass, bacteria and viruses and retains them in process tank. SUEZ membranes can handle extreme variances in feedwater, and can operate in high mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentrations of up to 12,000 mg/L.

The ZeeWeed MBR system can operate with the membranes directly in series with the bioreactor tank. This drastically reduces the required plant footprint by eliminating the need for secondary clarifiers. The membranes are designed to operate with minimal air scouring through the use of patented cyclic aeration approach and the membrane fibres are manufactured from PVDF, which is highly resistant to cleaning chemicals.

In the process, effluent from UASB unit was first equalized in effluent collection sump and then it entered the MBR system. Fewer unit processes, combined with highly automated programmable logic controller (PLC), made plant operation less labor intensive.

After SUEZ’s treatment solution, the client is getting consistent required quality which is best for RO feed. It has also enhanced the overall performance and increased RO membrane life.

*Trademark of SUEZ; may be registered in one or more countries.